Show me the money: Email marketing for Improved Conversions

Email marketing undoubtedly stands to be the most effective and cost efficient way of marketing. Emails are a boon for communication and do not seem to be displaced at least in the coming years.

The results of email marketing are obtained in the form of conversions. Email marketing conversions are a measure of returns to an investment. When somebody completes the action goal set up by your email or clicks on any call to action link provided in the email, it is a form of conversion. The formula is as mentioned below:

Email marketing conversion rate ={ (Total number of recipients who completed action / Total number of emails delivered ) *100 }

“Emails may be cost effective, but there is no excuse to not produce quality content to give to a targeted audience.” Benjamin Murray

Here are a few tips to consider when you are using email marketing for improved conversions:

Blasting your recipients with emails will no longer help you earn revenue. A smarter solution would be to decide on the number of emails with appealing content. Try to segment your email recipients on the basis of their likes and behavior and send then in appropriate gaps to the customer. Remember not to take large gaps as the customer might forget that they subscribed to your website.

This is a more narrowed and targeted way of sending effective emails ultimately returning conversions. Sending 3 average number of emails received per subscriber per week is considered good enough to get a conversion response.
 

Sending target based emails is a better method of knowing your customers. The emails sent to a specific group of audience, depending on their behavior are known as target based emails. It is also advisable to experiment with the kind of emails sent.

Adaptation of a different email writing style, tone, personalization, call to action links, content etc. are unique approaches of sending emails. Pick up the correct email content for the right type of audience as it creates a huge difference.

You can easily send a new update regarding your product to a specific number of customers and wait to look at the response. 

Once things start working perfectly, they can be automated.
 

Reward your customers for staying loyal to you, but first get them engaged with your product. According to a market survey conducted online, sending blog posts or updates about products once a week to the customers helps in their retention as well as improved conversions.

Offer the customers a free trial of your application or product and focus on providing engaging and quality content during this time. You may add the premium or extended features in the paid versions.

This will help in customer retention along with success of the ultimate action goal. Customer appealing offers such as vouchers or coupons can be provided in the emails, in order to get increased click through rates.
Also, rewarding customers by creating a call to action link can be a great way of getting clicks and conversions. See what GILT sent in their email:

It is important to create the appropriate call to action link so that your customers actually get interested in your content and read it.

Avoid mistakes like immediately focussing on the Shop Now Button, before even letting the customer take a good look at your brand. This might lead a negative impact on the customer, even though you have wonderful quality content up your sleeves.

The tip is to gradually attract the customer towards it as it will also help you get loyal customers. Try to use buttons like “Click to read more...” or play with the font size by emphasizing on the content rather than the matter around it.

A regular blog mail by Orbit Media Studios uses the “find out here and get collaborating” as the call to action link.

It is obvious that people tend to keep their phones in their proximity these days more than ever. Engaging people through the medium of their phones can be a great opportunity to increase your conversion rates.

Design content specifically for mobile phones such as shopping applications, whose links can be provided in your emails. It will help the customer stay plugged into your product. This method would engage people and at the same time establish your efforts with them.
 

Too big footer or a too small header will leave you with receding conversion rates even though you have excellent content in your email. Paying precise attention to the styling part of the email will definitely draw more attention from recipients ultimately resulting in increased conversion rates.

Styling is important because the content should not appear fatigued to the customer. Everybody loves a button to click. Try to use a big red button for ‘SHOP NOW’ or ‘BUY HERE’ instead of mentioning it at the bottom of the email. Choose colors that best describe your product.
Check out "Shop Now" button of BONOBOS:

Personalization is a striking way to address customers. They immediately relate to it and get pulled by it. But overdoing personalization is harmful at times.

Take the example of Canon from the image that gives an idea of false or fake personalization.

Try to create a sense of urgency in your email as it becomes potential for immediate email conversions. Include titles like ‘deals end by noon’ or ‘OO hours remaining’.

Though both are effective, the latter creates a better representation of urgency in the mind of the customer, if placed at the right place in the email. Also sending follow up emails when a customer purchases a product from you is another way of customer retention.
Consider Amazon.com’s frequently bought together section or AJIO’s ‘Buy the look’, which compels the customer to purchase additional accessories or goods that pair up with the one that they initially chose.

Suggestions like these keep the customer engrossed to your brand.

Sales receipt follow-ups, that are sent, after a purchase is made, is another way of increased conversions as customers tend to open these emails.

Blurb did a great job:

“Don’t use big words, they mean so little.” Oscar Wilde

Email marketing conversions can be a deal of quid pro quo with the customer. Amazon’s sales started skyrocketing after 2001 only after the company understood the power of emails to earn actual revenue.

Thus, it is easy to see increased customer loyalty and improved conversions by following the tips and revamping your emails in the easiest ways.